Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Magical Winter Wonderland Fun

As the children in Pre-School began to get into the Christmas spirit, two of the practitioners set up a winter wonderland tuff tray for them to explore using snow powder. First, the children helped to make the snow, adding a scoop of water each to the powder that was poured into the tuff tray. The children were patient in waiting for their turn and demonstrated one of Daisykins Nursery's behaviour expectations as they took turns and shared with each other throughout the activity. [ngg src="galleries" ids="288" display="basic_slideshow"]The children watched in amazement as the powder developed into snow, conveying excitement and anticipation. The practitioners prompted a great conversation about how snow is formed, how water is turned to ice and how ice can be turned to water again. This referred back to an experiment that the children had participated in when in the outdoor area the week before. The practitioners were extremely proud of how the children had listened and remembered what had been said, portraying their understanding of the previous weeks learning.The tuff tray was filled with arctic animals, wooden mirrored blocks and silver star bowls that were filled with water. The children were invited to play and soon got involved, sprinkling the snow over the arctic animals. The children thoroughly enjoyed this small-world activity and continued to stay engaged, maintaining their attention, focus and concentration for a period of time. The practitioners loved the enthusiasm that the children showed as they moved the winter animals around the tuff tray, smiling and giggling as they played with their friends.[ngg src="galleries" ids="289" display="basic_slideshow"]This activity had a huge impact on the children's Communication and Language development and gave a substantial amount of evidence for the EYFS Developmental Matters objectives in this area. One child, in particular, added a storyline into his play, directing it to revolve around a snowstorm. The children communicated with each other for the duration of the activity, extending and elaborating on each others' play ideas. Click here to read about the children's engagement in this activity and how it promoted their Communication and Language development.